Need some context? Who is this rambler?

Allow me to attempt to put this blog into some sort of brief context. I like to travel. Some say I travel a lot; that may be so but it has so far been confined to Europe and there is a lot more beyond the busy, diverse, culturally-rich continent I'm from that can present crazy culture shocks that I have not yet been exposed to.

As much as I love travelling, it can take its toll. Continuously living out of a backpack is not much of a luxurious lifestyle and travelling on a budget can remove much of the seemingly glorified nature of travel. Many obstacles are encountered along the way and if it happens to be a health issue then is not only a phsyical impact, but often has financial and psychological effects too. 

Despite the above-mentioned downsides, travelling and living abroad present endless opportunities which would never occur otherwise. Since my five month Erasmus exchange in Finland (Turku) in

2010, I have made friends from all over the world and travelled with them in countries such as Estonia, Latvia, Sweden, Russia, Poland, Germany, Greece and more! My blog from this first Erasmus was a compulsory requirement from my home university and is still live: http://erasmusinturku.blogspot.com/

As a result of my first time in Finland, I even fell in love and I still think of Finland now as the land of love - a theory that leads to surprise and disagreement but there are many others with a similar story to mine, helping the credibility of such a theory. I fell in love with a Swiss and have visited him in the beautifully (and annoyingly) perfect Switzerland countless times.

After returning to my homeland of Northern Ireland to complete my Bachelor of (Primary) Education, I couldn't resist the idea of returning to Finland. So I did. I recently graduated from a two-year Master's degree programme entitled, 'Learning, Learning Environments and Educational Systems' from the University of Turku. This decision led me to the most incredible experiences and helped shape my world to involve even more possibilities in the world.

During those two years, I took the opportunity to embark upon a second Erasmus. I ended up living in Lithuania for three months completing an internship as an English Teacher for adults. I made the most of my time there to experience as much as possible of the country and local culture. My blog from that Erasmus experience can be found here (it was not compulsory): http://lifeinlithuania.blogspot.com/

After graduating from Finland and spending some time exploring more European countries (Portugal, Germany, Switzerland and Greece), I spent the summer working in Hungary as an English tutor/au pair for a lovely Hungarian family with four young children (aged 8, 7, 3 and 10 months.) I lived with them in the sweet city of Sopron, in Western Hungary at the Austrian border. Many days were spent crossing and re-crossing the Hungarian-Austrian border, exploring the local area.

Working for the summer as an au pair in a country I had never been to before has been one of the most enlightening times of my life that has led to a new level of respect and understanding for all parents! I gained invaluable life experience, as well as a more realistic outlook for the future. I hope to elaborate upon this more in a separate blog post.

For now though, I find myself in beautiful Vienna, as a Comenius Assistant in a primary school. It's an EU-funded project that allows teaching students

and graduates to work in a school for 12-16 hours per week (not including planning time) with the rest of the time dedicated to travel and language learning. My mission is to learn German and I have already signed up for evening classes, three times a week from 6-9pm. The idea at the moment is to stay in Vienna for the full school year: 2nd September until 27th June. Please be aware that anything posted on this blog reflects only my views and opinions and not those of the British Council.

With my previous blogs I systematically and regularly updated them once a week. However, this blog will represent a change of tune that reflects a more flexible and reflective approach, meaning that I will post whenever I have something to share. It is a means for me to record my thoughts throughout this new adventure that I can later print as a book to keep and return to. The blog books I have about my two Erasmus adventures in Finland and Lithuania are invaluable to look back on and reminisce about times I have already forgotten but am glad I have a record of. It's an added bonus if the readers of the blog enjoy it too!